Mohamed Bouazizi

Mohamed Bouazizi (29 March 1984-4 January 2011) was a Tunisian street vendor whose self-immolation on 17 December 2011 in protest of Zine El Abidine Ben Ali's dictatorship led to the Arab Spring.

Biography
Mohamed Bouazizi was born on 29 March 1984 in Sidi Bou Zid, Tunisia. His father died when he was three and his mother remarried to his uncle, and he worked in various jobs since he was ten after his uncle fell ill; he never graduated from high school. Bouazizi sold produce on the street, earning $140 a month to support his family as well as to save up for a pickup truck for his work. He was later troubled by police, initially because he was $200 in debt and later because he did not have a vending license. On 17 December 2011, policewoman Faida Hamdi allegedly harassed him and spat on him before confiscating his weighing scales and tossing aside his produce cart; he did not have enough money to bribe the government. She allegedly also insulted his dead father. Bouazizi, who was angered by the government's corruption, set himself on fire in protest. 90% of his body was harmed, and he died on 4 January 2011 in a hospital. His death set off protests across the Arab World that became known as the "Arab Spring".